Peasley



March 24, 1964 PEAsLEY 3,125,929

SHOOTING REST Filed March 30, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIG 7 if/ 5 57 I 59 t- INVFNTOI? How/m0 'Paasmy March 24, 1964 H. PEASLEY 3,125,929

7 SHOOTING REST Filed March 30, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 6 INVENTDR HOWARD Pans/.5

United States Patent 3,125,929 SHOOTING REST Howard Peasley, Portviile, N.Y. (423 Wygant Road, Horseheads, NY.) Filed Mar. 30,1961, Ser. No. 99,611 14 Claims. (Cl. 89-37) This invention relates generally to rifle rests and, more particularly, to a rest to be used to obtain maximum sta bility of a firearm while the weapon is being aimed at a stationary target or at game not on the move and to be further used in relieving the shooter of the necessity of supporting the Weight of the weapon and absorbing the recoil thereof.

Maximum rigidity is required for accurate shooting. This basic arrangement has been developed into various elaborate forms of adjustable rests, many fitted to the rifle with which they are used. These rests serve a very useful purpose but, by their very nature, are immovable and subject to deterioration by the elements and destruction by vandals. Also, as the power of a rifle increases, it becomes less easy to control and, after a number of rounds, it becomes more and more difficult to squeeze off the shots exactly the same each time. p

The rest disclosed herein is designed to provide the rifleman with a portable and easily adjustable support means for field use of his rifle. The unit can be carried in one hand. Because of its inherent structure, it is extremely rigid. In the past, maximum rigidity could only be achieved by firm anchorage of the rest and weight thereof. The shooters own weight provides rigidity and stability for the rest disclosed herein. The mass of the shooters body also acts as a means of absorbing recoil.

With the rest disclosed, sighting is accomplished in the normal sitting position. Recoil is taken by the hinged construction of the legs and bench top and against a recoil absorbing spring. The attachment of the seat to the bench top provides additional weight for absorbing recoil and provides stability for the rest and the gun thereon.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide animproved rifle rest.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rifle rest wherein the weight of the shooter is impressed on the rest to add mass thereto but no vibration is transmitted to the rest.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved recoil absorbing structure in a rifle rest.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved rifle rest which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and simple and eflicient to use.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportions, and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a shooting rest according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the hinge for the front leg of the rest;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the rifle holder;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the front part of the rest top and recoil absorbing spring;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the rest and tie rod attachment;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial view of another embodiment of the hinge for the front leg of the rest; and

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FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on line 7--7 of FIG. 3.

Now with more particular reference to the drawings, a rifle 10 indicated in broken lines is intended to be supported upon the rest as shown. The rest is made up of a top 11 with a front leg 12 and rear legs 14 hingedly connected thereto and held in spaced relation by a tie rod 15 which may be made of nylon, steel, or other suitable material. A ground engaging member 53 of a seat assembly 16 rests on the ground at its rear end and is supported on the rest by means of a cord 17. The cord 17 may be made of nylon or other suitable material. The foregoing members constitute the major parts of the rifle rest.

The top 11 is made of a single plate like sheet of ma terial such as a sheet of plywood and it has a stock support 18 and a fore end support 19 fixed thereto. The stock support 18 has a bottom flange 20 secured to the rest top 11 by means of screws 21 and a T-shaped section made up of legs 22 and 24 which are attached to the flange 20 and extend upwardly therefrom. A stock receiving pocket 23 is formed in the leg or flange 24 and the leg or flange 22 and is of suitable shape to receive the rear butt plate and rear end of the rifle 10. The pocket 23 may be lined with sheepskin or some other suitable soft material to prevent injury to the wood stock of the rifle 10.

The fore end support shown in enlarged view in FIG. 3 has a base block 25 which is attached to the top 11 of the rest by means of a single knurled screw 77 which provides a fifth wheel arrangement and rotates thereon in a horizontal plane. A handle 27 has a generally rectangular opening therein which receives a rectangular upper part 71 of the base block 25. The handle 27 is pivoted to the rectangular part 71 of the base block 25 by means of a pin 28 which extends through the handle 27 and through the rectangular upper part 71 of the base block 25.

A set screw 29 having a handwheel 30 thereon is provided. The set screw 29 is threadably recieved in a threaded opening in the handle and extends downwardly and rests on the front end of a pin 31. The pin 31 is fixed to the base block 25.

A fore end receiving member 32 is bifurcated and is adapted to receive the fore end of the rifle stock. It extends downwardly in generally curved relation and is integrally connected to the handle.

The front leg 12 may be made of an integral sheet of plywood, for example, and has an opening 33 cut therein for appearance and weight reduction. The lower ends of the leg 12 flares outwardly to form feet 34 and 35 which are adapted to rest on the ground. The upper ends of the leg 12 are hingedly connected to a block 36 by means of a hinge 37. The block 36 is fixed to the top 11.

In FIG. 4, a hole 38 is shown formed in the top 11 and in the block 36. A tie rod bolt 45 is placed in the hole 38. The bolt 49 is in the form of a cylindrical member extending laterally through a bore in the block 36 and having a hole therein. The hole is received on an end 41 of the tie rod 15 which has a shoulder 42 on the outer end thereof which rests against the bolt 40. A set collar 43 is fastened to the rod 15 by means of a set screw 44 and this forms an abutment for a shock absorber spring 45 which aids in absorbing recoil.

The remote end of the tie rod 15 has a threaded end 47 which is received in the threaded hole in a lower bolt retainer 46. The retainer 46 is a cylindrical member and has a threaded bore to receive the threaded end 47 of the tie rod 15. The retainer 46 extends through holes in both sides of retaining members 43. The retainer 46 rotates slightly in its hole when the shock absorber spring 45 is compressed, as for absorbing recoil. The spaced retaining members 48 are fixed to a transverse portion 49 of the rear legs 14.

The seat is made up of an elongated member 56 which may be in the form of a piece of plywood or the like having an interemdiate upstanding portion 51 thereon which is suitable to have a seat plate 52 hingedly attached thereto. The lower end of the member 56 has the ground engaging member 53 fixed thereto and the upper end has a hole 54 which receives the lower end of the cord 17. The upper end of the cord 17 is attached to an eyelet 55 attached to the top 11. The cord 17 may be made of nylon or the like.

The hinged construction of the seat plate 52 and the elongated member 56 is such that they may be placed fiat on the rest top 11 with depressions 84 in engagement with raised buttons 82 and a round portion 83 of the handle 27 engaged between two raised buttons 81. The seat is clamped in this position by adjusting the set screw 29 downwardly against the front end of the pin 31.

An alternate embodiment of the independent front legs is shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The hinge shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 includes an upper hinge member 57 which can be attached to a table top 11' by means of screws and a lower hinge member 59 which may be attached to a channel shaped member 60. The channel shaped member 69 receives the upper ends of legs 61. The legs 61 have rounded upper ends 62 and holes therein which receive screws 63. The screws 63 have wing nuts 64 thereon which may be loosened or tightened at will to adjust the legs 61. The hinges may be in the form of piano hinges or the like. The legs 61 may be moved about the screws 63 to adjust them for uneven ground.

The foregoing specification sets forth the invention in its preferred practical forms but the structure shown is capable of modification within a range of equivalents without departing from the invention which is to be understood is broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A shooting rest comprising a table having legs thereon and means to support a ride thereon, and a seat, an elongated flexible member attached to said table at one end and to said seat at the other end, said seat having one end thereof resting on the ground and the other end being suspended from said table adjacent an intermediate part of said rifle support means by means of said elongated flexible member.

2. A shooting rest comprising a table, means to support a gun on said table, a top and folding legs on said table, and a seat, an elongated flexible member attached to said table at one end and to said seat at the other end, one end of said seat adapted to rest on the ground, the other end being suspended from an intermediate point on said table top by means of said flexible member.

3. The rest recited in claim 2 wherein said means to support said gun comprises a stock support attached to said table top.

4. The rest recited in claim 2 wherein said means to support said gun comprises a fore end support attached to said table top.

5. The rest recited in claim 2 wherein said means to support said gun comprises a stock support and a fore end support both attached to said table top.

6. The rest recited in claim 5 wherein said fore end support comprises a handle having means to receive said A fore end on one end, a band engaging portion at the other end, and being pivotally connected to a fifth wheel at its intermediate part, said handle being adapted to rotate said fifth wheel to move the muzzle of said gun in a horizontal plane and adapted to swing said gun in a vertical plane about said pivotal connection.

7. The rest recited in claim 6 wherein said fore end engaging portion comprises a bifurcated upwardly extending portion for receiving said fore end and a set screw for limiting the downward swinging movement of said fore end support.

8. The rest recited in claim 2 wherein said seat is suspended by means of a resilient member.

9. The rest recited in claim 8 wherein said legs comprise front and rear legs, said front legs being freely pivoted to said top, said rear legs being swingably connected to said top at their upper ends and having a rod attached to their lower ends and extending upwardly and forwardly therefrom, said rod being slidably connected to said table top at its forward upper end, and a spring on said rod urging said rod to hold said rear legs in an upwardly and forwardly inclined position.

10. The rest recited in claim 9 wherein the upper end of said rod is attached to said table by means of a transverse bolt received in a bore in said table, a bore in said bolt slidably receiving said rod, stop means on the outer end of said rod limiting the sliding movement of said rod in a first direction, said spring being helical and receiving said rod, one end of said spring engaging said bolt on the opposite side thereof from said stop means, and second stop means on said rod spaced from said first mentioned stop means engaging the end of said spring remote from the end thereof engaging said bolt for absorbing recoil.

11. The rest recited in claim 2 wherein said legs are swingably attached to said table and comprise front and rear legs, said front legs being freely pivoted to said top, said rear legs being swingably connected to said top at their upper ends and having a rod attached to their lower ends and extending upwardly and forwardly therefrom, said rod being slidably connected to said table top at its forward upper end, and a spring on said rod urging said rod to hold said rear legs in an upwardly and forwardly inclined position.

12. The rest recited in claim 11 wherein said rear legs are integrally connected together.

13. The rest recited in claim 12 wherein said front legs are integrally connected together.

14. The rest recited in claim 12 wherein said front legs have flat upper ends and said upper ends are received in a channel shaped member and pivotally connected thereto, said channel shaped member being hingedly connected to said table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 49,500 Carter Aug. 22, 1865 298,430 Thayer May 13, 1884 700,835 Schouboe May 27, 1902 794,652 Young et al July 11, 1905 2,666,673 Hughes Jan. 19, 1954 OTHER REFERENCES The American Rifieman, April 1957, pages 16l 89-37B-1. :.1'. l 

1. A SHOOTING REST COMPRISING A TABLE HAVING LEGS THEREON AND MEANS TO SUPPORT A RIFLE THEREON, AND A SEAT, AN ELONGATED FLEXIBLE MEMBER ATTACHED TO SAID TABLE AT ONE END AND TO SAID SEAT AT THE OTHER END, SAID SEAT HAVING ONE END THEREOF RESTING ON THE GROUND AND THE OTHER END BEING SUSPENDED FROM SAID TABLE ADJACENT AN INTERMEDIATE PART OF SAID RIFLE SUPPORT MEANS BY MEANS OF SAID ELONGATED FLEXIBLE MEMBER. 